Dynamic error vector magnitude compensation

ABSTRACT

Aspects of this disclosure relate to compensating for dynamic error vector magnitude. A compensation circuit can generate a compensation signal based at least partly on an amount of time that an amplifier, such as a power amplifier, is turned off between successive transmission bursts of the amplifier. For example, the compensation circuit can charge a capacitor based at least partly on an amount of time that the amplifier is turned off between successive transmission bursts and generate the compensation signal based at least partly on an amount of charge stored on the capacitor. A bias circuit can receive the compensation signal, generate a bias signal based at least partly on the compensation signal, and provide the bias signal to the amplifier to bias the amplifier.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57. Thisapplication is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/574,936, filed on Dec. 18, 2014, which is a non-provisional of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/920,019, filed on Dec. 23, 2013,the entire disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to electronic systems and, in particular, toamplifiers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY

Radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers can be used to boost the power ofa RF signal having a relatively low power. Thereafter, the boosted RFsignal can be used for a variety of purposes, included driving theantenna of a transmitter.

Power amplifiers can be included in mobile phones to amplify an RFsignal for transmission. For example, in mobile phones that communicateusing a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol and/or any othersuitable communication standard, a power amplifier can be used toamplify the RF signal. Amplifying the RF signal to an incorrect powerlevel or introducing significant distortion of the original RF signalcan cause a wireless device to transmit out of band or violatecompliance with accepted standards. Biasing a power amplifier device candetermine the voltage and/or current operating point of the amplifyingdevices within the power amplifier.

There is a need for improved power amplifier systems. Furthermore, thereis a need for improving power amplifier biasing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power amplifier module for amplifyinga radio frequency (RF) signal.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an example wireless device thatcan include one or more of the power amplifier modules of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of one example of a power amplifiersystem.

FIG. 4 is a graph of one example of power amplifier gain versus time.

FIGS. 5A-5B are graphs of two examples of power amplifier gain versustime.

FIG. 6 includes graphs that illustrate bias current versus time forvarious transmissions bursts with different amounts of time betweenbursts and a graph of a bias network supply voltage versus time.

FIG. 7 is schematic block diagrams of illustrative power amplifiersystems with dynamic error vector magnitude compensation according tocertain embodiments.

FIG. 8A is a circuit diagram that includes an example primary biasingcircuit of FIG. 7 and the power amplifier transistor of FIG. 7 accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 8B is a graph that illustrates a relationship of temperature riseof the reference bipolar transistor of FIG. 8A over time.

FIG. 8C is a graph that illustrates the temperature rise of the poweramplifier bipolar transistor of FIG. 8A over time for various supplyvoltages.

FIG. 8D is a graph that illustrates the effective current mirror ratiofor the circuit of FIG. 8A during a transmission burst for varioussupply voltages.

FIG. 8E is a circuit diagram of an example compensation circuit of FIG.7 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8F is an illustrative flow diagram of a process of operating thecompensation circuit of FIG. 8E according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram of one example of a packaged poweramplifier module.

FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram of a cross-section of the packaged poweramplifier module of FIG. 9 taken along the lines 9B-9B.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTS

The innovations described in the claims each have several aspects, nosingle one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes.Without limiting the scope of the claims, some prominent features willnow be briefly described.

One aspect of this disclosure is a method that includes selectivelycharging a capacitor based at least partly on an amount of time that apower amplifier is disabled between successive transmission bursts;generating a bias signal based at least partly on an amount of chargestored on the capacitor; and biasing the power amplifier with the biassignal such that the power amplifier has a substantially constant gain.

The method can further include, prior to selectively charging, fullycharging the capacitor to a full amount of charge prior to the poweramplifier being turned on after a cold start. Selectively charging caninclude charging the capacitor to less than a full amount of charge.Selectively charging can be based at least partly on a voltage level ofthe power supply voltage. The method can further include scaling areference signal generated from the capacitor, and generating the biassignal can be based at least partly on the scaled reference signal. Suchscaling can be performed by a digital-to-analog converter performs saidscaling.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a power amplifier system thatincludes a power amplifier, a compensation circuit, and a bias circuit.The power amplifier is configured to receive a bias signal, receive aradio frequency (RF) signal, and generate an amplified RF signal. Thecompensation circuit includes a capacitor configured to charge anddischarge. The compensation circuit is configured to charge thecapacitor based at least partly on an amount of time that the poweramplifier is turned off between successive transmission bursts of thepower amplifier. The compensation circuit is configured to generate acompensation signal based at least partly on an amount of charge storedon the capacitor. The bias circuit is configured to generate the biassignal based at least partly on the compensation signal.

The compensation circuit can charge the capacitor based at least partlyon an enable signal of the power amplifier. In some of theseembodiments, the bias circuit can receive the enable signal and toselectively pulse an output of the power amplifier based at least partlyon the enable signal. The compensation circuit can include a scalingcircuit to generate the compensation signal based at least partly onscaling a signal from the capacitor, and the bias circuit can generatethe bias signal based at least partly on a combination of thecompensation signal and a reference signal. The compensation circuit caninclude a power supply boost circuit to adjust current to charge thecapacitor based at least partly on a voltage level of a power supplyvoltage.

The bias circuit can control the bias signal such that a gain of thepower amplifier is substantially constant as the amount of time betweensuccessive transmission bursts of the power amplifier changes. The biassignal can be a bias current.

The power amplifier can include a bipolar power amplifier transistorhaving a base and a collector, in which the base can receive the biassignal and the collector can provide the amplified RF signal. The poweramplifier, the compensation circuit, and the bias circuit can beincluded within a single package, such as a plastic package.

Another aspect of this disclosure is an apparatus that includes anamplifier, a compensation circuit, and a bias circuit. The amplifier isconfigured to amplify an input signal. The compensation circuit isconfigured to generate a compensation signal based at least partly on anamount of time that the amplifier is turned off between successivetransmission bursts of the amplifier. The bias circuit is configured toreceive the compensation signal, generate a bias signal based at leastpartly on the compensation signal, and provide the bias signal to theamplifier to bias the amplifier.

The compensation circuit can include a digital-to-analog converterconfigured to receive a reference voltage from the capacitor andgenerate the compensation signal based at least partly on the referencevoltage and a digital-to-analog converter control word.

The compensation circuit can include a capacitor configured to chargeand discharge, and the compensation circuit can charge the capacitorbased at least partly on the amount of time that the amplifier is turnedoff between successive transmission bursts of the amplifier. Thecompensation circuit can charge the capacitor to a full amount of chargeresponsive to the amplifier being turned on after a cold start.

The amplifier can be a power amplifier. The apparatus can be a mobiledevice that includes the power amplifier, the compensation circuit, thebias circuit, and an antenna configured to transmit an RF signal fromthe power amplifier.

Yet another aspect of this disclosure is a circuit for biasing anamplifier. The circuit includes a compensation circuit including anintegration circuit configured to adjust an output based on an amount oftime that the amplifier is turned off between successive transmissionbursts. The circuit also includes a bias circuit configured to generatea bias signal based at least partly on the output signal from theintegration circuit, and to bias the amplifier with the bias signal.

For purposes of summarizing the disclosure, certain aspects, advantagesand novel features of the inventions have been described herein. It isto be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may beachieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention.Thus, the inventions may be embodied or carried out in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taughtor suggested herein.

Detailed Description of Certain Embodiments

The following detailed description of certain embodiments presentsvarious descriptions of specific embodiments. However, the innovationsdescribed herein can be embodied in a multitude of different ways, forexample, as defined and covered by the claims. In this description,reference is made to the drawings where like reference numerals canindicate identical or functionally similar elements. It will beunderstood that elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarilydrawn to scale.

Apparatus and methods for biasing amplifiers, such as power amplifiers,are disclosed herein. In certain implementations, a power amplifiersystem includes a power amplifier and a bias circuit. The poweramplifier can be used to amplify a radio frequency (RF) signal fortransmission, and the bias circuit can be used to generate a biasvoltage and/or bias current for biasing the power amplifier. The poweramplifier bias circuit can receive an enable signal that can be used toenable or disable the power amplifier so as to pulse an output of thepower amplifier.

Self-heating of an amplifier, such as a power amplifier, can affect thesettling time for the amplifier. Relatively long settling times canaffect dynamic error vector magnitude (DEVM). Previous DEVM compensationhas encountered problems with maintaining substantially constant poweramplifier gain when there is a relatively short period of time betweenbursts when the power amplifier is enabled.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to charging a capacitor based on anamount of time between successive transmission bursts of an RF poweramplifier. The amount of charge on the capacitor can be used to generatea boost on a bias signal, such as a bias current, for the RF poweramplifier. The charging and discharging of the capacitor can becontrolled to create a compensation signal. The compensation signal canbe a current signal or a voltage signal. A biasing circuit can bias theRF power amplifier using the compensation signal to compensate for DEVM.Accordingly, the compensation signal can be used to maintain asubstantially constant gain of the power amplifier. For example, thebias circuit can keep the collector current of a bipolar power amplifiertransistor at a substantially constant current based on the compensationsignal. Accordingly, the bias of the RF power amplifier can be generatedsuch that DEVM can be compensated for to account for an amount of timethat the RF power amplifier is turned off between successivetransmission bursts.

While this disclosure may describe examples in connection poweramplifiers for illustrative purposes, the principles and advantagesdescribed herein may be applied to other suitable amplifiers. Forexample, the principles and advantages described herein can be appliedto biasing low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and/or other amplifiers.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power amplifier module 10 foramplifying a radio frequency (RF) signal. The illustrated poweramplifier module (PAM) 10 is configured to amplify an RF signal RF_IN togenerate an amplified RF signal RF_OUT. As described herein, the poweramplifier module 10 can include one or more power amplifiers, including,for example, multi-stage power amplifiers.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an example wireless or mobiledevice 11 that can include one or more of the power amplifier modules ofFIG. 1. The wireless device 11 can include a power amplifier biascircuit implementing one or more features of the present disclosure in acontrol component 18. The power amplifier bias circuit can include aDEVM compensation circuit and a primary biasing circuit. More detailsregarding embodiments of these circuits will be provided later, forexample, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8E.

The example wireless device 11 depicted in FIG. 2 can represent amulti-band and/or multi-mode device such as a multi-band/multi-modemobile phone. In certain embodiments, the wireless device 11 can includea switch module 12, a transceiver 13, an antenna 14, power amplifiers17, a control component 18, a computer readable medium 19, a processor20, and a battery 21.

The transceiver 13 can generate RF signals for transmission via theantenna 14. Furthermore, the transceiver 13 can receive incoming RFsignals from the antenna 14.

It will be understood that various functionalities associated with thetransmission and receiving of RF signals can be achieved by one or morecomponents that are collectively represented in FIG. 2 as thetransceiver 13. For example, a single component can be configured toprovide both transmitting and receiving functionalities. In anotherexample, transmitting and receiving functionalities can be provided byseparate components.

Similarly, it will be understood that various antenna functionalitiesassociated with the transmission and receiving of RF signals can beachieved by one or more components that are collectively represented inFIG. 2 as the antenna 14. For example, a single antenna can beconfigured to provide both transmitting and receiving functionalities.In another example, transmitting and receiving functionalities can beprovided by separate antennas. In yet another example, different bandsassociated with the wireless device 11 can be provided with differentantennas.

In FIG. 2, one or more output signals from the transceiver 13 aredepicted as being provided to the antenna 14 via one or moretransmission paths 15. In the example shown, different transmissionpaths 15 can represent output paths associated with different bandsand/or different power outputs. For instance, the two example poweramplifiers 17 shown can represent amplifications associated withdifferent power output configurations (e.g., low power output and highpower output), and/or amplifications associated with different bands.Although FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration using two transmission paths15, the wireless device 11 can include more or fewer transmission paths15.

The power amplifiers 17 can be used to amplify a wide variety of RFsignals. For example, one or more of the power amplifiers 17 can receivean enable signal that can be used to pulse the output of the poweramplifier to aid in transmitting a wireless local area network (WLAN)signal, such as a WLAN 802.11g signal, or any other suitable pulsedsignal. In certain embodiments, one or more of the power amplifiers 17are configured to amplify a Wi-Fi signal. Each of the power amplifiers17 need not amplify the same type of signal. For example, one poweramplifier can amplify a WLAN signal, while another power amplifier canamplify, for example, a Global System for Mobile (GSM) signal, a codedivision multiple access (CDMA) signal, a W-CDMA signal, a Long TermEvolution (LTE) signal, or an EDGE signal.

One or more features of the present disclosure can be implemented in theforegoing example communication standards, modes and/or bands, and inother communication standards.

In FIG. 2, one or more detected signals from the antenna 14 are depictedas being provided to the transceiver 13 via one or more receiving paths16. In the example shown, different receiving paths 16 can representpaths associated with different bands. Although FIG. 2 illustrates aconfiguration using four receiving paths 16, the wireless device 11 canbe adapted to include more or fewer receiving paths 16.

To facilitate switching between receive and transmit paths, the switchmodule 12 can be configured to electrically connect the antenna 14 to aselected transmit or receive path. Thus, the switch module 12 canprovide a number of switching functionalities associated with anoperation of the wireless device 11. In certain embodiments, the switchmodule 12 can include a number of switches configured to providefunctionalities associated with, for example, switching betweendifferent bands, switching between different power modes, switchingbetween transmission and receiving modes, or some combination thereof.The switch module 12 can also be configured to provide additionalfunctionality, including filtering and/or duplexing of signals.

FIG. 2 shows that in certain embodiments, a control component 18 can beprovided for controlling various control functionalities associated withoperations of the switch module 12, the power amplifiers 17, and/orother operating component(s). The control component 18 can beimplemented on the same die as the power amplifier 17 in certainimplementations. The control component 18 can be implemented on adifferent die than the power amplifier in some implementations.Non-limiting examples of the control component 18 that include acompensation circuit and a bias circuit to compensate for dynamic errorvector magnitude are described herein in greater detail.

In certain embodiments, a processor 20 can be configured to facilitateimplementation of various processes described herein. For the purpose ofdescription, embodiments of the present disclosure may also be describedwith reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams ofmethods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or blockdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrationsand/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computer programinstructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagramblock or blocks.

In certain embodiments, these computer program instructions may also bestored in a computer-readable memory 19 that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to operate in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagramblock or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loadedonto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to causea series of operations to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process suchthat the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide instructions for implementing the acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The battery 21 can be any suitable battery for use in the wirelessdevice 11, including, for example, a lithium-ion battery.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative power amplifiersystem 26. The illustrated power amplifier system 26 includes the switchmodule 12, the antenna 14, the battery 21, a directional coupler 24, apower amplifier bias and control circuit 30, a power amplifier 32, and atransceiver 33. The illustrated transceiver 33 includes a basebandprocessor 34, an I/Q modulator 37, a mixer 38, and an analog-to-digitalconverter (ADC) 39.

The baseband signal processor 34 can generate an I signal and a Qsignal, which can be used to represent a sinusoidal wave or signal of adesired amplitude, frequency, and phase. For example, the I signal canrepresent an in-phase component of the sinusoidal wave and the Q signalcan represent a quadrature component of the sinusoidal wave, which canbe an equivalent representation of the sinusoidal wave. In certainimplementations, the I and Q signals can be provided to the I/Qmodulator 37 in a digital format. The baseband processor 34 can be anysuitable processor configured to process a baseband signal. Forinstance, the baseband processor 34 can include a digital signalprocessor, a microprocessor, a programmable core, or any combinationthereof. Moreover, in some implementations, two or more basebandprocessors 34 can be included in the power amplifier system 26.

The I/Q modulator 37 can be configured to receive the I and Q signalsfrom the baseband processor 34 and to process the I and Q signals togenerate a RF signal. For example, the I/Q modulator 37 can includedigital-to-analog converters (DACs) configured to convert the I and Qsignals into an analog format, mixers for upconverting the I and Qsignals to radio frequency, and a signal combiner for combining theupconverted I and Q signals into a RF signal suitable for amplificationby the power amplifier 32. In certain implementations, the I/Q modulator37 can include one or more filters configured to filter frequencycontent of signals processed therein.

The power amplifier bias and control circuit 30 can receive an enablesignal ENABLE from the baseband processor 34 and a battery or power highvoltage V_(CC) from the battery 21, and can generate a bias voltageV_(BIAS) for the power amplifier 32 based on the enable signal ENABLE.The power amplifier bias and control circuit 30 can also includecircuitry configured to perform dynamic error vector magnitudecompensation as will be discussed in more detail later. Although FIG. 3illustrates the battery 21 directly generating the power high voltageV_(CC), in certain implementations the power high voltage V_(CC) can bea regulated voltage generated by a regulator that is electricallypowered using the battery 21. The power amplifier 32 can receive the RFsignal from the I/Q modulator 37 of the transceiver 33, and can providean amplified RF signal to the antenna 14 through the switch module 12.

The directional coupler 24 can be positioned between the output of thepower amplifier 32 and the input of the switch module 12, therebyallowing an output power measurement of the power amplifier 32 that doesnot include insertion loss of the switch module 12. The sensed outputsignal from the directional coupler 24 can be provided to the mixer 38,which can multiply the sensed output signal by a reference signal of acontrolled frequency so as to downshift the frequency content of thesensed output signal to generate a downshifted signal. The downshiftedsignal can be provided to the ADC 39, which can convert the downshiftedsignal to a digital format suitable for processing by the basebandprocessor 34. By including a feedback path between the output of thepower amplifier 32 and the baseband processor 34, the baseband processor34 can be configured to dynamically adjust the I and Q signals tooptimize the operation of the power amplifier system 26. For example,configuring the power amplifier system 26 in this manner can aid incontrolling the power added efficiency (PAE) and/or linearity of thepower amplifier 32.

FIG. 4 is a graph of power amplifier gain versus time for an examplepower amplifier. The graph includes an initial phase Φ₀, in which thepower amplifier is disabled and has a low gain, such as a gain of about0. After the initial phase Φ₀, the power amplifier is enabled. Forexample, the end of the initial phase Φ₀ can correspond to a timeinstance when the enable signal ENABLE of FIG. 3 transitions from adeactivated state to an activated state.

As shown in FIG. 4, after being enabled, the power amplifier can operatein multiple phases associated with different gains. For example, thepower amplifier can include a first phase Φ₁, in which the poweramplifier's gain can begin to settle based on a dominant influencingfactor. Additionally, the power amplifier can include a second phase Φ₂in which gain can further settle based on one or more non-dominantinfluencing factors. Furthermore, in a third phase Φ₃, the poweramplifier's gain can be settled and substantially constant. In thisthird phase Φ₃, the power amplifier amplifier's error vector magnitude(EVM) can correspond to the power amplifier's static error vectormagnitude (SEVM). EVM of an unpulsed amplifier can be referred to asSEVM. EVM of a pulsed amplifier can be referred to as dynamic EVM(DEVM). Transient effects can cause additional error compared to anunpulsed condition. Accordingly, DEVM is typically worse than SEVM.

A power amplifier's gain can settle over time for a variety of reasons.For example, physical circuit limitations may prevent a power amplifierfrom turning on instantly. Additionally, when the power amplifier isactivated, the power amplifier may begin to heat, which can lead to athermal transient that changes the performance characteristics of thepower amplifier's circuitry. The thermal transient can be affected by avariety of factors, such as self-heating of devices, mutual heating ofdevices, thermal mismatch between devices, cross die heat transfer, thelike, or any combination thereof.

In certain applications, a power amplifier can provide amplificationbefore the gain of the power amplifier system is fully settled. Forexample, the power amplifier may provide amplification during the secondphase Φ₂, since the power amplifier's thermal time constant may belonger, and in some instances significantly longer, than the poweramplifier's rated or specified turn-on time. Before the poweramplifier's gain is fully settled, the power amplifier can have adynamic error vector magnitude (DEVM) that can be worse that the poweramplifier's SEVM.

From a system perspective, the distortion of the RF input signalprovided to the amplifier for amplification can be represented by eitherthe DEVM or SEVM figure of merit. The distortion that the RF inputsignal experiences is typically dependent upon time after the amplifieris activated and before the amplifier has achieved a steady-statecondition. Moreover, the receiver demodulation level can be set duringthe preamble, so any change in gain after that can cause error and poorEVM.

Although FIG. 4 illustrates the power amplifier's gain changing overtime due to thermal effects, it will be understood that other parametersof the power amplifier can change with time, including, for example, theamplifier's phase. The principles and advantages described herein areapplicable to gain correction and/or to other types of correction, suchas phase correction.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are graphs of two examples of power amplifier gainversus time curves. In FIG. 5A, a power amplifier is turned off for arelatively long duration between activation cycles. In contrast, in FIG.5B, a power amplifier is turned off for a relatively brief durationbetween activation cycles. In the curve shown in FIG. 5A, thetemperature of the power amplifier can be relatively cold at the startof the second pulse. The relatively cold temperature of the poweramplifier can result increase the impacts of transient gain effectsassociated with pulsing the power amplifier. In contrast, in theconfiguration shown in FIG. 5B, the temperature of the power amplifiercan be relatively hot at the start of the second pulse, which can resultin the power amplifier having a relatively small amount of transientgain effects.

Absent compensation, the DEVM of the power amplifier can vary based onthe pulsing operations of the power amplifier, including, for example,an off-time between pulses and/or a duty cycle of the pulses. Thedependence of the power amplifier's gain and/or phase on pulsingoperations can make it difficult to compensate for the power amplifier'sDEVM using static techniques, such as resistor-capacitor (RC)compensation. Moreover, DEVM has been problematic in applications inwhich the power amplifier is encapsulated in a plastic package. Thethermal profile of the power amplifier in the plastic package cancontribute to DEVM.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to keeping a gain of power amplifieron an integrated circuit stable during a transmission burst regardlessof an amount of time between successive bursts. For instance, the DEVMcompensation described herein can provide substantially the same gainfor when a power amplifier has a relatively long amount of time betweentransmission bursts, for example as shown in FIG. 5A, and when the samepower amplifier has a relatively short amount of time betweentransmission bursts, for example as shown in FIG. 5B.

It was observed that the gain of a low distortion integrated circuit RFpower amplifier varied as the power amplifier warms up during use. Thiswas noticeable when the power amplifier was first enabled. The observedgain characteristic of an uncorrected power amplifier, when it isenabled from cold, is a gain which initially starts too low then has anasymptote to a stable gain with a time constant on the order of, forexample, 100 us to 250 us, such as about 180 us for some SiGe poweramplifiers.

However, some wireless transmission systems which involve quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM) and do not employ amplitude tracking during atransmission burst (for example, a WLAN 802.11g transmission burst).Such systems may suffer a degradation of transmission if the receivedsignal were to drift in amplitude. As one way to avoid this, the gain ofthe power amplifier can be made substantially stable during thetransmission burst. In a relatively short amount of time, such as firstfew microseconds or tens of microseconds (depending on an applicablestandard), the receiver can capture the amplitude calibration of thetransmitted burst but the calibration can degrade as the amplitude ofthe receive signal drifts due to gain variations in the power amplifierduring the burst.

The mechanism for gain shortfall at the start of the burst may be due tothe time taken to stabilize the operating point of each of the stages ofthe power amplifier. The effect can be predominately thermal. NPNtransistor amplifying stages might be expected to lose gain as the poweramplifier warms up, since the NPN device can follow a basic diodetemperature law. This may be observed after an extended period ofoperation and does not pose a problem for in certain applications, suchas WLAN transmissions.

The phenomenon of increasing gain at the initial enablement of the poweramplifier can be mirrored by a similar profile in the operating currentof the power amplifier. The effective ratio between the reference NPNdevice and the amplifying stage can change. This can be caused by achanging temperature difference between the amplifying NPN stage and oneor more corresponding bias reference transistors. If the referencetransistor(s) were to track the temperature of the amplifying stage,this effect may be less pronounced or may not even be present.

After an extended period when the power amplifier has been off, bothdevices should be at approximately the same temperature. When the poweramplifier is turned on, then heat is generated in both the amplifyingstage and the reference device due to the current flow through them.However, their respective rates of heating and respective settlingtemperatures may not be match for one or more of the following reasons:

1. A direct current (DC) voltage across the reference device isinvariably less than across the amplifying device;

2. The amplifying device includes a number of parallel NPN devices,which although individually well matched to the reference device, theseparallel NPN devices are usually closely spaced and warm up relativelyquickly; and/or

3. The superposition of RF signal through the amplifying device and itsre-biasing can cause further heating of the amplifying stage as it movesaway from certain types of operation, such as class A operation.

The gain drift can be multiplied by the number of amplifying stagessince each stage can suffer from the same and/or similar problems. Assuch, DEVM compensation can be easier to compensate for in two stagepower amplifiers than in three stage power amplifiers.

Previous DEVM correction schemes have encountered issues withcompensating for a decrease in gain, which can be referred to as gaindroop, at and/or near the beginning of a transmission burst. Such issueshave been problematic, for example, in applications with a relativelyshort time between transmission bursts, for example as shown in FIG. 5B.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to creating a boost in a poweramplifier bias signal to correct the gain droop at the beginning of theburst that depends on an interval for which the power amplifier isturned off between bursts. When the length of time for which the poweramplifier is turned off between bursts is at least several times theboost time constant, then the boost to maintain a substantially constantgain can be substantially independent of the time that off time that thepower amplifier is turned off. As the time the power amplifier is turnedoff begins to approach the boost time constant, then the amount of boostcan be reduced while still maintaining a substantially constant poweramplifier gain. As the time that the power amplifier is turned off isreduced to a small fraction of the boost time constant, the amount ofboost to maintain a power amplifier gain can be reduced to a relativelysmall amount. The amount of boost to maintain a power amplifier gain canbe dependent on a temperature difference between a reference transistorand an amplifying transistor returning. In effect, as the time that thepower amplifier is turned off is reduced, the transistors in thereference and amplifier sections will cool down less. Moreover, the timeconstant of the temperature difference may be similar to a boost timeconstant applied to correct an isolated transmit burst.

In certain applications, the time constant of the gain correction can bearound 180 us. Typical data bursts used for WLAN data transmission lastaround 180 us. Thus, an amount of boost correction desired for a 10%transmit duty cycle (for example, with 1620 us between data bursts) islikely to be more than the boost needed for a 50% duty cycle (forexample, with 180 us between bursts). Measurements on power amplifierssupport this observation. The amount of boost correction desired can bedependent upon the duty cycle that the WLAN power amplifier experiences.

Referring to FIG. 6, graphs of bias current with DEVM compensationversus time for various transmissions bursts with different amounts oftime between bursts will be described. The bias currents illustrated inthese graphs can be implemented by one or more features describedherein. With reference to FIG. 6, a graph of a bias network supplyvoltage versus time will be also described. The DEVM compensationdescribed herein can control recharging of an RC circuit to compensatefor DEVM based on a length of time that a power amplifier is turned offbetween successive transmission bursts.

Graphs 610 to 650 illustrate a DEVM compensation current for biasing apower amplifier associated with the power amplifier transmitting 200 usdata bursts with the power amplifier being turned off different amountsof time between successive data bursts. The currents corresponding tothe graphs 610 to 650 can maintain a substantially constant gain of apower amplifier independent of the time between successive transmissionbursts. The times and currents shown in these graphs are provided forillustrative purposes. Accordingly, the principles and advantagesdiscussed herein can be applied to other amounts of current and/or timeperiods.

At time t=0, a power amplifier can be completely in the ‘off’ state andcooled down. Then the power amplifier can be enabled. This can bereferred to a cold start. The first data burst after a cold start canreceive a full current boost such that the bias current is, for example,about 1.15 mA as shown in FIG. 6. Depending on a duration of an offperiod between successive transmission bursts, subsequent current boostlevels can be adjusted. The graphs 610 to 650 represent currents thatcan be supplied to a second stage of a power amplifier. Graph 610illustrates current boost over time for an off period of 1 ms betweentransmission bursts of 200 us, graph 620 illustrates current boost overtime for an off period of 316 us between transmission bursts of 200 us,graph 630 illustrates current boost over time for an off period of 100us between transmission bursts of 200 us, graph 640 illustrates currentboost over time for an off period of 31 us between transmission burstsof 200 us, and graph 650 illustrates current boost over time for an offperiod of 10 us between transmission bursts of 200 us. These graphs showthat DEVM compensation current can be adjusted based on an amount oftime that a power amplifier is turned off between successivetransmission bursts. As shown in FIG. 6, with a relatively short offperiod between successive transmission bursts, DEVM compensation can berelatively small. In some implementations, a relatively short off periodbetween successive transmission bursts can be about 1 ms or less.

A power amplifier can cool off relatively more as the time betweensuccessive transmission bursts increases. For instance, the poweramplifier can cool off more between the transmission burstscorresponding to graph 620 than between the transmission burstscorresponding to graph 650. When the power amplifier cools off less frombeing turned off for a shorter period of time, the boost current for thenext transmission burst can be provided at a lower starting currentcompared to when the power amplifier cools off more.

Graph 600 illustrates that for a 1 ms ‘off’ period corresponding to thegraph 610, a power amplifier bias network can be deactivated about 460us after the end of a data burst. At that point, the power amplifier canbe entirely turned off and any subsequent data burst could be treated asbeing a first transmission burst after a cold start.

In graphs 610 to 650, a boost current can begin at about 1.15 mA in thefirst transmission burst after a cold start. The boost current can bedecreased as the power amplifier warms up while transmitting to maintaina gain of the power amplifier. When the power amplifier is turned off,the boost current can be approximately zero. As shown in graph 630, whenthere is 100 us between successive transmission bursts, the nexttransmission burst can begin at a current of about 1.106 mA and boostcurrents corresponding to subsequent transmission bursts can start atabout 1.034 mA and then 1.027 mA in an example implementation. When theamount of time between transmission bursts is relatively less, then thebeginning boost current for each successive transmission burst can keepdecreasing. The relatively short time of about 10 us between successivetransmission bursts in the graph 650 shows that the boost current canapproach an exponential decay function. The bias current can approach asteady state current, for example, at about 900 uA in the graph 650.

The DEVM compensation described herein can reduce and/or minimize aneffect of the difference in temperature between a reference transistorand an RF amplifying transistor in a manner independent of the period oftime that the power amplifier is turned off between successivetransmission bursts. Accordingly, the power amplifier can provide adesired gain throughout a cycle of signal transmission, which mayinclude periods of relatively high duty cycle and/or relatively low dutycycle that can be controlled by an enable signal. Such DEVM compensationcan be transparent to an RF transmission system, which can includebaseband components, RF components, and front-end components. This canprovide DEVM compensation without placing a control burden on the systemoutside the power amplifier system.

Amplifier performance can be adjusted as operating conditions change inaccordance with the DEVM correction described herein. An electricalcircuit can generate a correction signal to approximate thermalcharacteristics of the power amplifier. The power amplifier bias can beadjusted based on the correction signal to maintain a substantiallyconstant gain. An integration circuit can increase and/or decrease thecorrection signal based whether the power amplifier is turned on orturned off. For example, a capacitor can be charged when the poweramplifier is turned off and subsequent charging of the capacitor can becontrolled based on an amount of time the amplifier is turned offbetween successive transmission bursts. Such a capacitor can be used ingenerating the currents shown in graphs 610 to 650 of FIG. 6. As such,the power amplifier can be biased to mitigate the thermal factorsaffecting DEVM, such the thermal affects associated with the curvesshown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. Moreover, DEVM correction can be adjusted overtime to adjust for changes in the amount time between successivetransmission bursts over time.

FIG. 7 is schematic block diagram of an illustrative power amplifiersystem 60 with dynamic error vector magnitude compensation according toan embodiment. The illustrated power amplifier system 60 includes acontrol and biasing circuit 30, a battery 21, a power amplifier 32, aninductor 62, a decoupling capacitor 63, an input capacitor 42, animpedance matching block 64, a switch module 12, and an antenna 14. Asillustrated, the control and biasing circuit 30 includes a primarybiasing circuit 76 and a compensation circuit 77. The illustratedcompensation circuit 77 includes a charge control circuit 78, an RCcircuit 79, and a scaling circuit 80. Although FIG. 7 illustrates oneimplementation of the power amplifier 32, it will be understood that theprinciples and advantages described herein can be implemented inconnection with a variety of other power amplifier structures,including, for example, multi-stage power amplifier structures and/orpower amplifiers employing other transistor structures. Furthermore, theprinciples and advantages discussed herein can be implemented inconnection with any amplifier that can benefit from DEVM compensation.

The control and biasing circuit 30 can receive an enable signal for thepower amplifier 32. The enable circuit can cause the control and biasingcircuit 30 to turn the power amplifier 32 on and to turn the poweramplifier 32 off depending on the state of the enable signal. Forexample, the enable signal can activate or deactivate the primarybiasing circuit 76 responsive to a transition in the state of the enablesignal. The enable signal can be provided to the charge control circuit78. The charge control circuit 78 can control charging of a capacitor inthe RC circuit 79 based on the amount of time that the power amplifier32 is turned off. The charge control circuit 78 can also controldischarging of the capacitor of the RC circuit 78 when the poweramplifier 32 is turned off. Additionally, the charge control circuit 78can control charging and/or discharging of the capacitor in the RCcircuit 79 based on a signal provided by the scaling circuit 80. Anoutput of the RC circuit 79 can be scaled by the scaling circuit 80. Thescaling circuit 80 can include, for example, a digital-to-analogconverter (DAC). The DAC can receive an indication of charge stored onthe capacitor of the RC circuit 79 as a reference signal, such as areference voltage. The DAC can be programmed with a DAC control wordthat sets the scaling of the reference signal.

The primary biasing circuit 76 is configured to receive the enablesignal, a compensation signal from the compensation circuit 77, and thebattery or power high voltage V_(CC). The primary biasing circuit 76 canuse the compensation signal and the enable signal to generate a biassignal for biasing the power amplifier 32. For example, the primarybiasing circuit 76 can be used to generate a bias signal, such as a biascurrent or a bias voltage, that can be used to bias the base of thebipolar power amplifier transistor 61 of the power amplifier 32. Theprimary biasing circuit 76 can use the enable signal to control or varya magnitude of the bias signal over time so as to enable or disable thepower amplifier and thereby pulse the power amplifier's output. Forexample, when the enable signal indicates the power amplifier 32 shouldbe activated, the primary biasing circuit 76 can change the amplitude ofthe bias signal so as to achieve a desired gain of the power amplifier32. When the power amplifier 32 is configured to transmit a WLAN signal,such as a Wi-Fi signal, the enable signal ENABLE can be selectivelycontrolled so as to pulse the output of the power amplifier 32.Similarly, when the enable signal indicates that the power amplifier 32should be deactivated, the primary biasing circuit 76 can decrease thebias signal such that the gain of the power amplifier 32 is relativelylow, for example, about 0.

The primary biasing circuit 76 can also use the compensation signal toadjust, for example, boost, a magnitude of the bias signal over time tocompensate for DEVM. For example, when the compensation signal indicatesthe power amplifier 32 is operating under relatively hot conditions,such as conditions associated with the curve of FIG. 5B, the primarybiasing circuit 76 can apply a relatively small increase to the biassignal. As another example, when the correction signal indicates thepower amplifier 32 is operating under relatively cold conditions, suchas conditions associated with the curve of FIG. 5A, the primary biasingcircuit 76 can apply a relatively large increase to the bias signal.Accordingly, the primary biasing circuit 76 can adjust the bias signalto compensate for DEVM based on operating conditions as the operatingconditions change.

For instance, as illustrated, the output of the compensation circuit 77can be provided to the primary biasing circuit 76. This output can bereferred to as a compensation signal. As illustrated in FIG. 7, theoutput of the compensation circuit 77 can be generated by the scalingcircuit 80. The primary biasing circuit 76 can combine the output ofcompensation circuit 77 with a reference bias signal for the poweramplifier 32. For instance, the primary biasing circuit 76 can combine areference bias signal from a bandgap reference circuit with the outputof the compensation circuit 77 to bias the power amplifier 32.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, the illustrated power amplifier 32includes a bipolar power amplifier transistor 61 having an emitter, abase, and a collector. The emitter of the bipolar power amplifiertransistor 61 can be electrically connected to a first or power lowvoltage V₁, which can be, for example, a ground supply, and a radiofrequency input signal RF_IN can be provided to the base of the bipolarpower amplifier transistor 61 through the input capacitor 42. Thebipolar power amplifier transistor 61 can amplify the RF input signalRF_IN and provide the amplified RF signal at the collector. The bipolarpower amplifier transistor 61 can be any suitable device. In oneimplementation, the bipolar power amplifier transistor 61 is aheterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT).

The power amplifier 32 can be configured to provide the amplified RFsignal to the switch module 12. The impedance matching block 64 can aidin terminating the electrical connection between the power amplifier 32and the switch module 12. For example, the impedance matching block 64can increase power transfer and/or reduce reflections of the amplifiedRF signal.

The inductor 62 can be included to aid in electrically powering thepower amplifier 32 with the power high voltage V_(CC) from the battery21 while choking or blocking high frequency RF signal components. Theinductor 62 can include a first end electrically connected to the powerhigh voltage V_(CC) and a second end electrically connected to thecollector of the bipolar power amplifier transistor 61. As illustrated,the decoupling capacitor 63 is electrically connected between the powerhigh voltage V_(CC) and the power low voltage V₁ and can provide a lowimpedance path to high frequency signals, thereby reducing the noise ofthe power high voltage V_(CC), improving power amplifier stability,and/or improving the performance of the inductor 62 as a RF choke.

Referring now to FIG. 8A, a circuit diagram that includes an exampleprimary biasing circuit 76 of FIG. 7 and the power amplifier transistor61 of FIG. 7 according to an embodiment will be described. Asillustrated in FIG. 8A, the primary biasing circuit 76 can include areference bipolar transistor 95, a base current helper transistor 96,and an RF trap circuit, which can include a capacitor 97 in parallelwith an inductor 97.

As illustrated, the compensation signal I_(OUT) from the compensationcircuit 77 and a substantially constant reference current I_(CONST) canbe provided to the collector of the reference bipolar transistor 95 andthe base of the base current helper transistor 96. A current source 99can provide the reference current I_(CONST) when the enable signalENABLE indicates to activate the power amplifier transistor 61. Thereference current I_(CONST) can be generated, for example, using abandgap circuit.

An emitter of the base current helper bipolar transistor 96 can beelectrically coupled to the base of the reference bipolar transistor 95.The base of the reference bipolar transistor 95 can be electricallycoupled to the base of the power amplifier transistor 61 by way of theRF trap circuit. The RF trap circuit can be arranged to trap an RFfrequency to thereby filter out noise at that RF frequency. In otherembodiments (not illustrated), the base of the reference bipolartransistor 95 can also be electrically coupled to the base of one ormore other bipolar transistors. A bias signal can be provided to thebase of the bipolar reference transistor 95 and to the bipolar poweramplifier transistor 61 by way of the RF trap circuit.

In FIG. 8A, the reference bipolar transistor 95, the base current helpertransistor 96, and the power amplifier transistor 61 are illustrated asNPN bipolar transistors. It will be understood that the principles andadvantages discussed with reference to FIG. 8A and other figures canalso be applied to PNP power amplifier transistors and referencetransistors.

The reference bipolar transistor 95 and the power amplifier transistor61 can form a current mirror. However, these transistors may not beoperated under ideal conditions for optimal matching betweentransistors. The output current from the compensation circuit 77 canhave a relatively high current value. The collector voltages of thereference bipolar transistor 95 and the power amplifier transistor 61may not be equal. Accordingly, these transistors can warm up todifferent temperatures during a transmission burst. This warming up canbe more pronounced for higher battery voltage supplies.

The physical spacing between the reference bipolar transistor 95 and thepower amplifier transistor 61 may not be as close as would be ideal togive optimized matching. Accordingly, a common thermal environment maynot be shared by the reference bipolar transistor 95 and the poweramplifier transistor 61. This can contribute to mismatches between thereference bipolar transistor 95 and the power amplifier transistor 61.

The current mirror that includes the reference bipolar transistor 95 andthe power amplifier transistor 61 can operate as intended when thevoltage on these two transistors in substantially the same. However, dueto non-ideal conditions, such as differences in thermal environment, acurrent mirror ratio of this current mirror can deviate from an idealcurrent mirror ratio. A higher effective current mirror ratio can resultin a higher RF gain at a higher battery voltage as transmission burstsprogress over time.

FIGS. 8B to 8D illustrate effects of a thermal environment and supplyvoltage on the circuit illustrated in FIG. 8A. These graphs illustrateexample results, which can vary due to variations due to process,layout, packaging, the like, or any combination thereof. While thesegraphs were generated in connection with equally sized reference bipolartransistor and power amplifier transistor, it will be understood that inpractice the power amplifier transistor can be larger than the referencebipolar transistor. For instance, in certain embodiments, the poweramplifier bipolar transistor can be about 10 times to about 30 timeslarger than the reference bipolar transistor.

FIG. 8B is a graph that illustrates a relationship of temperature riseof the reference bipolar transistor 95 of FIG. 8A over time. The curvesshown in FIG. 8B correspond to various supply voltages and a stable 2 mAcurrent provided to the collector of the reference bipolar transistor 95of FIG. 8A. The curves of FIG. 8B illustrate a temperature rise of thereference bipolar transistor 95 at the start of a transmission burst.These curves illustrate that the temperature rise of the referencebipolar transistor 95 can be substantially independent of the supplyvoltage.

FIG. 8C is a graph that illustrates the temperature rise of the poweramplifier transistor 61 of FIG. 8A over time for various supplyvoltages. The curves shown in FIG. 8C correspond to various supplyvoltages and a stable 2 mA current provided to the collector of thereference bipolar transistor 95 of FIG. 8A. The curves in FIG. 8C showthat for higher supply voltages the temperature rise of the poweramplifier transistor 61 is greater. This illustrates that thetemperature rise of the power amplifier transistor 61 can be dependenton supply voltage.

FIG. 8D is a graph that illustrates the effective current mirror ratiofor the reference bipolar transistor 95 and the power amplifiertransistor 61 of FIG. 8A during a transmission burst for various supplyvoltages. The ratios in these plots correspond to the operatingconditions of FIGS. 8B and 8C. The curves in FIG. 8D illustrate that asthe supply voltage increases, the effective current mirror ratio canincrease during a transmission burst. Accordingly, absent compensation,the gain of the power amplifier transistor 61 can increase during atransmission burst. The DEVM compensation described herein can mitigatethe effects of temperatures and/or supply voltage on gain of a poweramplifier transistor such that the power amplifier transistor has asubstantially constant gain. For instance, the compensation circuit 77of FIG. 7 can compensate for the effects shown in FIGS. 8B to 8D. Insome embodiments, an input boost current provided to the compensationcircuit 77 can be made proportional to V_(BAT)−2V_(BE), where V_(BAT) isa battery voltage and 2V_(BE) is a voltage on the collector of thereference bipolar transistor 95 of FIG. 8A.

With reference to FIG. 8E, an example of the compensation circuit 77 ofFIG. 7 will be described. As illustrated, the compensation circuit 77includes a capacitor 82, a pulse generator 83, a pass gate 84, a DAC 85,current mirrors 86, 88, 90, 91, multiplexers 87, 89, an inventor 93, anda pass transistor 81. As shown in FIG. 8E, the current mirrors 86 and 90can be n-type current mirrors that include NPN transistors and/or NFETsand the current mirrors 88 and 91 can be p-type current mirrors thatinclude PFETs. As such, in this implementation, the current mirrors 86and 90 can sink current and the current mirrors 88 and 91 can sourcecurrent. The RC circuit 79 of FIG. 7 can include the capacitor 82 andresistances associated with the capacitor 82 that are controlled by thecharge control circuit 78 such that the voltage across the capacitor 82is managed for generating the DEVM compensation signal. The scalingcircuit 80 of FIG. 7 can include the DAC 85. The charge control circuit78 of FIG. 7 can include one or more the current mirrors and/or one ormore of the multiplexers and/or the pass transistor illustrated in FIG.8E. The illustrated current mirrors can adjust current levels, forexample, to control a rate at which the capacitor 82 charges and/ordischarges. The illustrated multiplexers can select whether to pass acharge current or a discharge current based on whether a power amplifieris enabled. In some embodiments, the compensation circuit 77 can includemore elements than illustrated in FIG. 8E and/or a subcombination of theillustrated elements. The capacitor 82 can be referred to as a DEVMcapacitor. The capacitor 82 and the resistances associated therewith canhave a time constant that is selected such that charge on the capacitor82 can be used to compensate for DEVM.

The compensation circuit 77 can fully charge the capacitor 82 to providemaximum compensation after a cold start. A bias enable signal can changestate to activate the bias circuit. The capacitor 82 can be fullycharged responsive to the bias enable signal enabling the bias circuit.A power amplifier enable signal can turn a power amplifier on and off.The power amplifier enable signal can be a periodic signal. Thecapacitor 82 can be charged and/or discharged based on the poweramplifier enable signal.

The pulse generator circuit 83 can generate a pulse to fully charge thecapacitor 82. The pulse generator circuit 83 can cause the capacitor 82to be fully charged responsive to the bias enable signal transitioningto a state in which the power amplifier bias circuit is activated. Apass gate 84 can provide an input current I_(IN) to the capacitor 82 tocharge the capacitor 82. The input current I_(IN) can cause thecapacitor 82 to charge relatively fast.

The capacitor 82 can be discharged while the power amplifier is turnedon. After the pulse generator circuit 83 closes the pass gate 84, thecapacitor 82 can be discharged. A scaled down version of a mirroredcurrent generated from the discharge current I_(DISCH), which can begenerated by the DAC 85. This scaled down current can be provided to thecapacitor 82 to discharge the capacitor 82. As illustrated, the currentmirror 86 can provide the scaled down mirrored discharge current to thecapacitor 82. The scaled down mirrored discharge current can be providedto the capacitor 82 via a multiplexer 87 as illustrated. To realizerelatively long transients of boost currents, a relatively smalldischarging current can be provided to the capacitor 82. This canaccount for some or all of the effects discussed with reference to FIGS.5A and/or 5B according to certain embodiments. Such a current can be atleast three or four orders of magnitude smaller than the input currentI_(IN) that charges the capacitor 82 through the pass gate 84. Forinstance, as one example, the peak charging current from the inputcurrent I_(IN) can be about 200 uA and the scaled down discharge currentcan be about 14 nA.

The discharge current I_(DICH) can be generated by the DAC 85. At theend of the timer pulse generated by the pulse generator 83, thecapacitor 82 can reach a steady state in which it is fully charged. Thevoltage across the capacitor 82 can be provided to the DAC 85 as areference voltage V_(REF). The reference voltage V_(REF) can turn ontransistors, such as n-type field effect transistors (NFETs), in the DAC85. This can cause the discharge current I_(DISCH) to flow. Thecompensation signal I_(OUT) can also be generated by the DAC 85 based onthe reference voltage provided by the capacitor 82. A compensationsignal I_(OUT) can be generated based on the voltage level of thereference voltage V_(REF) and the DAC control word DAC Control. Asillustrated the compensation signal is an output current provided by thecompensation circuit 77. In certain implementations, the DAC controlword DAC Control can be set once to provide a desired scaling of thereference voltage for a particular application. The compensation signalI_(OUT) can be a current boost for DEVM compensation. The DAC 85 cangenerate the reference current I_(REF) based on the reference voltageV_(REF). The reference current I_(REF) can be independent of the DACcontrol word DAC Control. Accordingly, the reference current I_(REF) canbe representative of the voltage across the capacitor 82. The referencecurrent I_(REF) can be generated by any suitable circuitry configured toprovide a current representative of the voltage across the capacitor 82.Such circuitry may not be considered part of a DAC in someimplementations.

The discharge current I_(DISCH) can be mirrored using the current mirror88. The mirror ratio of the current mirror 88 can be configurable. Forexample, one or more current mirror select signals can activate and/ordeactivate transistors of the current mirror 88 to create a desiredcurrent mirror ratio. The rate of discharge of the capacitor 82 can beadjusted based on the one or more current mirror select signals. Themirrored current can then be scaled down with the current mirror 86. Thescaled down current can then cause the capacitor 82 to discharge.

The current boost for DEVM compensation can be based on the compensationsignal I_(OUT) generated by the DAC 85. For instance, the compensationsignal I_(OUT) can be added to another current, such as a substantiallyconstant current produced by a bandgap circuit. As shown in FIG. 8A, thecompensation signal I_(OUT) and the reference current I_(cONST) can beadded. In some implementations, the boosted current is mirror andprovided to the second and/or one or more subsequent stages of amulti-stage power amplifier. The compensation signal I_(OUT) can dependon the DAC control word, as discussed above. The DAC control word can beselected to generate the compensation signal I_(OUT) within a desiredrange for a particular application.

As discussed above, the power amplifier enable signal can periodicallyenable and disable the power amplifier in certain implementations. Forinstance, the graphs 610 to 650 correspond to a periodically enabledpower amplifier. The capacitor 82 can be discharged while the poweramplifier is turned on and charged while the power amplifier is turnedoff. Charging the capacitor 82 can be based on an amount of time thatthe power amplifier is disabled between successive transmission bursts.The amount of charge stored on the capacitor 82 can also correspond toheating of the power amplifier at the end of a transmission burst priorto the power amplifier being turned off.

When the power amplifier is turned on by a periodic enable signal, thecapacitor 82 can be discharged. The input current I_(IN) can be splitinto I_(REF) and current provided to the input of the current mirror 90.During discharge, I_(REF) can decrease and the current provided to theinput of the current mirror 90 can increase. Then when the capacitor 82is being charged, I_(REF) can increase and the current provided to theinput of the current mirror 90 can decrease.

A charge current I_(CH) can be generated from the input current providedto the current mirror 90. The pass transistor 81, which can be a PFETtransistor as illustrated, can provide an input to the current mirror90. When the input current I_(IN) is charging the capacitor 82, it canbe desirable to prevent excess current from flowing into the currentmirror 90 so that I_(REF) can increase to match the input currentI_(IN). When the input current I_(IN) is connected through the pass gate84 to the capacitor 82, the voltage at the I_(REF) output can acrosscapacitor 82 can be substantially the same such that the pass transistor81 can be biased off. When the pass gate 82 is opened, then the voltageon the I_(REF) output can rise and excess current can flow to thecurrent mirror via the pass transistor 81.

The charge current I_(CH) can be attenuated relative to the inputcurrent provided to the current mirror 90. For instance, the chargecurrent I_(CH) can about ⅛ of the input current provided to the currentmirror 90 in some implementations. The charge current I_(CH) can bepassed through the multiplexer 89 to the current mirror 88. The currentmirror 88 can scale down the charging current I_(CH). This current canbe mirrored by current mirror 86 and provided to the current mirror 91by way of the multiplexer 87. The output of the current mirror 91 canprovide a scaled charging current to charge the capacitor 82.

The multiplexers 87 and 89 can pass charge currents when the poweramplifier is turned off and pass discharge currents when the poweramplifier is turned on. Accordingly, the multiplexers 87 and 89 can usethe power amplifier enable signal or a variant thereof as a selectsignal. In FIG. 8E, when the power amplifier enable signal ENABLEindicates that the power amplifier is enabled, the multiplexer 87provides a current path between its port i2 and port O and themultiplexer 89 provides a current path between its port i2 and port O.When the power amplifier enable signal ENABLE indicates that the poweramplifier is disenabled, the multiplexer 87 provides a current pathbetween its port i1 and port O and the multiplexer 89 provides a currentpath between its port i1 and port O.

The input current I_(IN) can be substantially constant. Accordingly, asum of I_(REF) and the input current to the current mirror 90 can besubstantially constant. The charging current I_(CH) and the dischargecurrent I_(DISCH) are different from each other during the periodicenabling of the power amplifier. The charging current I_(CH) can dependon the values of I_(REF) and the input to the current mirror 90 when thepower amplifier enable signal transitions to turn the power amplifieroff. The discharging current I_(DISCH) can depend on the values ofI_(REF) and the input to the current mirror 90 when the power amplifierenable signal transitions to turn the power amplifier on. The relativesizes of I_(REF) and the input current I_(IN) can result in differentcurrents being provided to the current mirror 86. For example, ifdischarging is such that the input to the current mirror 90 becomeslarger than the input current I_(IN), then the input to the currentmirror 86 should be at a higher current than for the previoustransmission burst.

Average temperature of a power amplifier can be higher for higher dutycycles. Accordingly, less DEVM compensation can be provided to equalizethe gain of the power amplifier during such transmission boosts. Shortertransmission bursts, which can have a lower duty cycle, can have moreDEVM compensation in a bias signal applied to the power amplifier thanlonger transmission bursts with relatively less time between the bursts.

When the period of time between successive transmission bursts isrelatively long, the capacitor 82 can be fully charged. As the voltageacross the capacitor 82 increases, an output voltage V_(OUT) increases.When V_(OUT) increases to a threshold voltage, the inverter 93 cantransition its output signal to a logic 0 value. This can cause the biasenable signal to turn off the biasing circuits. The next time the poweramplifier is enabled, the biasing and control circuit 30 will start froma cold start and fully charge the capacitor 82.

A relatively higher supply voltage, such as a battery voltage, cangenerate more heat than a relatively lower supply voltage. Accordingly,there can be a higher DEVM with a higher supply voltage. As such, morecurrent boost in the power amplifier bias current can be provided for ahigher power supply voltage. The power supply boost circuit (notillustrated) can adjust the input current I_(IN) based on the voltagelevel of the supply voltage. For example, the power supply boost circuitcan increase the input current I_(IN) for a higher power supply voltageand reduce the input current I_(IN) for a lower power supply voltage.The power supply boost circuit can maintain the input current I_(IN) ata current level that is proportional to V_(SUPPLY)−2V_(BE), whereV_(SUPPLY) is a supply voltage such as a battery voltage and 2V_(BE) isa voltage on a collector of the reference bipolar transistor such as thereference bipolar transistor 95 of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 8F is an illustrative flow diagram of a process 100 of operatingthe compensation circuit of FIG. 8E according to an embodiment. Theprocess 100 will be described with reference to the compensation circuit77 shown in FIG. 8E for illustrative purposes. Any combination offeatures discussed with reference to FIG. 8E can be implemented inconnection with the process 100. It will be understood that theprinciples and advantages of the process 100 can be applied to othersuitable compensation circuits. The operations of the process 100 can beperformed in any suitable order. In some embodiment, a method caninclude additional operations than the process 100 and/or asubcombination of the illustrated operations.

A pulse can be generated at block 102. This pulse can be generated tocharge the capacitor 82 when a power amplifier is activated after a coldstart and/or after a power is deactivated for a relatively long periodbetween transmission bursts. In certain implementations, the pulse canbe asserted for on the order of 100 ns, such as about a few hundrednanoseconds. The pulse generator 83 can generate the pulse.

The capacitor 82 can be fully charged at block 104. The pulse generatedat block 102 can cause one or more switches, such as the pass gate 84,to provide a current to the capacitor 82 to charge the capacitor.I_(REF) can ramp up as the capacitor 82 charges until I_(REF)approximately equals I_(IN) and the voltage on capacitor 82 stabilizes.This can cause the capacitor 82 to fully charge such that the biascurrent for a power amplifier is boosted at a beginning of atransmission burst to a maximum amount after a cold start and/or afterthe power amplifier has been deactivated for a relatively long period oftime.

When the power amplifier is activated, the capacitor 82 can bedischarged at block 106. A discharge current can be provided to thecapacitor 82 when the power amplifier is activated to control thedischarge of the capacitor 82. The discharge current can be provided tothe capacitor 82 from the DAC 85 by way of the multiplexer 89, thecurrent mirror 88, the current mirror 86, the multiplexer 87, and thecurrent mirror 91.

When the power amplifier is deactivated between transmission bursts, thecapacitor 82 can be charged at block 108. The discharge current to thecapacitor 82 can be disabled. The path through current mirrors 90 and 91is enabled to provide a charge current to re-charge the capacitor. Themultiplexer 89 can provide the current mirror 88 with the current fromthe current mirror 90 instead of the discharge current I_(DISCH) fromthe DAC 85. The multiplexer 87 can provide the current mirror 91 withthe current from the current mirror 86 instead of the current providedby the capacitor 82. Accordingly, the current mirror 91 can be enabledto re-charge the capacitor 82.

If a new transmission burst occurs while the capacitor 82 is beingre-charged, the voltage on capacitor 82 can be used as a starting pointfor generating an amplitude of the compensation current I_(OUT). Thiscurrent should be less than the compensation current I_(OUT) resultingfrom a cold start.

At block 110, a determination can be made as to whether the chargestored by the capacitor 82 satisfies a threshold. The threshold canrepresent that the capacitor 82 is fully charged. If the capacitor 82charges sufficiently such that I_(REF) is approximately equal to I_(IN),then the current mirror 90 can drop out of conduction and the DEVM eventcan be deemed to be over. This can be sensed by a compensationdeactivate signal DEVM_(OVER). The DEVM_(OVER) signal can turn off thecompensation circuit 77, the primary biasing circuit 76 bias, otherbiasing circuitry, or any combination thereof so as to reduce powerconsumption.

When the threshold is not satisfied and the power amplifier isactivated, the process can return to block 106 to discharge thecapacitor 82. As such, when the power amplifier is activated and theDEVIVI_(OVER) signal is not asserted, the capacitor 82 can be dischargedat block 106.

On the other hand, when the threshold is satisfied, DEVM compensationcan be turned off at block 112. After the DEVM compensation is turnedoff, any subsequent transmission burst can be treated as a cold start.When such a subsequent transmission burst occurs, the process can beginat block 102.

In certain embodiments, the power amplifier bias and control circuit 30and the power amplifier 32 can be integrated on a single die with one ormore other components to form a packaged power amplifier module. The diecan be encapsulated in plastic. In one embodiment, the single die can bea SiGe die. In some other embodiments, the power amplifier bias andcontrol circuit 30 and the power amplifier 32 can be embodied onseparate die in a packaged power amplifier module. In one embodiment,the power amplifier 32 can be on a GaAs die and the power amplifier biasand control circuit 30 can be on a CMOS die. The packaged poweramplifier modules can be, for example, mounted to a RF circuit boardassociated with the wireless device 11 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram of one example of a packaged poweramplifier module 300. FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectionof the packaged power amplifier module 300 of FIG. 9A taken along thelines 9B-9B.

The packaged power amplifier module 300 includes an IC or die 301,surface mount components 303, wirebonds 308, a package substrate 320,and encapsulation 340. The package substrate 320 includes pads 306formed from conductors disposed therein. Additionally, the die 301includes pads 304, and the wirebonds 308 have been used to electricallyconnect the pads 304 of the die 301 to the pads 306 of the packagesubstrate 301.

As illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the die 301 includes the poweramplifier 32 and the power amplifier bias and control circuit 30 formedtherein. The power amplifier bias control and circuit 30 includes aprimary biasing circuit 76 and a compensation circuit 77, which can beas described earlier.

The packaging substrate 320 can be configured to receive a plurality ofcomponents such as the die 301 and the surface mount components 303,which can include, for example, surface mount capacitors and/orinductors.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the packaged power amplifier module 300 is shown toinclude a plurality of contact pads 332 disposed on the side of thepackaged power amplifier module 300 opposite the side used to mount thedie 301. Configuring the packaged power amplifier module 300 in thismanner can aid in connecting the packaged power amplifier module 300 toa circuit board such as a phone board of a wireless device. The examplecontact pads 332 can be configured to provide RF signals, bias signals,power low voltage(s) and/or power high voltage(s) to the die 301 and/orthe surface mount components 303. As shown in FIG. 9B, the electricallyconnections between the contact pads 332 and the die 301 can befacilitated by connections 333 through the package substrate 320. Theconnections 333 can represent electrical paths formed through thepackage substrate 320, such as connections associated with vias andconductors of a multilayer laminated package substrate.

In some embodiments, the packaged power amplifier module 300 can alsoinclude one or more packaging structures to, for example, provideprotection and/or to facilitate handling of the packaged power amplifiermodule 300. Such a packaging structure can include overmold orencapsulation 340 formed over the packaging substrate 320 and thecomponents and die(s) disposed thereon.

It will be understood that although the packaged power amplifier module300 is described in the context of wirebond-based electricalconnections, one or more features of the present disclosure can also beimplemented in other packaging configurations, including, for example,flip-chip configurations. Moreover, it will be understood that one ormore wirebonds can provide electrical connections between the poweramplifier 32 and the power amplifier bias and control circuit 30. Theseparate dies can be formed using different process technology. Forinstance, a first die can be a GaAs die and a second die can be a CMOSdie. As another example, the first die can be a SiGe die and the seconddie can be a CMOS die.

Some of the embodiments described above have provided examples inconnection with power amplifiers and/or mobile devices. However, theprinciples and advantages of the embodiments can be used for any othersystems or apparatus that could benefit from DEVM compensation.

Such a system or apparatus can be implemented in various electronicdevices. Examples of the electronic devices can include, but are notlimited to, consumer electronic products, parts of the consumerelectronic products, electronic test equipment, etc. Examples of theelectronic devices can also include, but are not limited to, memorychips, memory modules, circuits of optical networks or othercommunication networks, and disk driver circuits. The consumerelectronic products can include, but are not limited to, a mobile phonesuch as a smart phone, a telephone, a television, a computer monitor, acomputer, a hand-held computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a microwave, a refrigerator, anautomobile, a stereo system, a cassette recorder or player, a DVDplayer, a CD player, a VCR, an MP3 player, a radio, a camcorder, acamera, a digital camera, a portable memory chip, a washer, a dryer, awasher/dryer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, amulti-functional peripheral device, a wrist watch, a clock, etc.Further, the electronic devices can include unfinished products.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” The word “coupled”, as generally usedherein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directlyconnected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements.Likewise, the word “connected”, as generally used herein, refers to twoor more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected byway of one or more intermediate elements. Additionally, the words“herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used inthis application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not toany particular portions of this application. Where the context permits,words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or pluralnumber may also include the plural or singular number respectively. Theword “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word coversall of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items inthe list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the itemsin the list.

Moreover, conditional language used herein, such as, among others,“can,” “could,” “might,” “can,” “e.g.,” “for example,” “such as” and thelike, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or withoutauthor input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/orstates are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whileprocesses or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each ofthese processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of differentways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as beingperformed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performedin parallel, or may be performed at different times.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methodsand systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the methods and systems described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims andtheir equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

1. (canceled)
 2. A power amplifier system with error vector magnitudecompensation, the power amplifier system comprising: a radio frequencypower amplifier configured to receive a bias signal and to amplify awireless local area network signal; a compensation circuit configured togenerate a compensation signal based at least partly on an amount oftime between successive transmission bursts of the radio frequency poweramplifier; and a bias circuit configured to generate the bias signalbased at least partly on the compensation signal so as to compensate fordynamic error vector magnitude.
 3. The power amplifier system of claim 2wherein the compensation circuit includes a capacitor and thecompensation circuit is configured to charge the capacitor based atleast partly on the amount of time that the radio frequency poweramplifier is turned off between successive transmission bursts of theradio frequency power amplifier.
 4. The power amplifier system of claim3 wherein the compensation circuit includes a current mirror configuredto provide a scaled down charge current to charge the capacitor.
 5. Thepower amplifier system of claim 3 wherein the compensation circuitincludes a current mirror configured to provide a scaled down chargedischarge current to discharge the capacitor.
 6. The power amplifiersystem of claim 3 wherein the compensation circuit is configured tocharge the capacitor to less than a full amount of charge between thesuccessive transmission bursts of the radio frequency power amplifier.7. The power amplifier system of claim 3 wherein the compensationcircuit includes a scaling circuit configured to scale a signal from thecapacitor to generate the compensation signal.
 8. The power amplifiersystem of claim 2 wherein the bias circuit includes a referencetransistor that is matched and ratioed to an amplifying transistor ofthe radio frequency power amplifier, and the reference transistor andthe amplifying transistor have different rates of heating.
 9. The poweramplifier system of claim 2 wherein the compensation circuit isconfigured to generate the compensation signal such that thecompensation signal has a first magnitude associated with a firsttransmit duty cycle of the radio frequency power amplifier and a secondmagnitude associated with a second transmit duty cycle of the radiofrequency power amplifier, the first magnitude being greater than thesecond magnitude, and the first transmit duty cycle being less than thesecond transmit duty cycle.
 10. A mobile device comprising: a radiofrequency power amplifier configured to receive a bias signal andprovide an amplified a wireless local area network signal; an antennaconfigured to transmit the amplified wireless local area network signal;a compensation circuit configured to generate a compensation signalbased at least partly on an amount of time between successivetransmission bursts of the radio frequency power amplifier; and a biascircuit configured to generate the bias signal based at least partly onthe compensation signal so as to compensate for dynamic error vectormagnitude.
 11. The mobile device of claim 10 further comprising a switchmodule configured to selectively couple the radio frequency poweramplifier to the antenna.
 12. The mobile device of claim 10 wherein themobile device is a smart phone.
 13. The mobile device of claim 10wherein the compensation circuit includes a capacitor and thecompensation circuit is configured to charge the capacitor based atleast partly on the amount of time that the radio frequency poweramplifier is turned off between successive transmission bursts of theradio frequency power amplifier.
 14. The power amplifier system of claim13 wherein the compensation circuit includes a current mirror configuredto provide a scaled down charge current to charge the capacitor.
 15. Thepower amplifier system of claim 13 wherein the compensation circuitincludes a scaling circuit configured to scale a signal from thecapacitor to generate the compensation signal.
 16. A method of dynamicerror vector magnitude compensation, the method comprising: generating,using a compensation circuit, a compensation signal based at leastpartly on an amount of time between successive transmission bursts of aradio frequency power amplifier; and biasing the radio frequency poweramplifier based at least partly on the compensation signal so as tocompensate for dynamic error vector magnitude.
 17. The method of claim16 wherein the generating includes discharging a capacitor while theradio frequency power amplifier is activated and charging the capacitorwhile the radio frequency power amplifier is deactivated.
 18. The methodof claim 17 wherein the generating further includes fully charging thecapacitor such that the capacitor is fully charged for a cold start ofthe radio frequency power amplifier.
 19. The method of claim 17 whereinthe charging includes charging the capacitor to less than a full amountof charge between two successive transmission bursts of the radiofrequency power amplifier.
 20. The method of claim 16 wherein thegenerating is performed such that the compensation signal decreases inmagnitude as a transmit duty cycle of the radio frequency poweramplifier increases.
 21. The method of claim 16 wherein the method isperformed in a mobile device that includes an antenna configured totransmit a wireless local area network signal from the radio frequencypower amplifier.